basil & salt's last minute sides, tips, tricks and ideas

Slicing, dicing, baking and prepping. The countdown begins.

If you are looking for a couple of quick and simple side dishes, we have you covered. The best part about these two recipes is, these work any time of the year. Before we launch into those though, we have a few tips and time savers that will make your prep of the holiday turkey dinner just a bit easier.

Turkey

Simple is key here. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, roast for an hour and reduce temp to 350 degrees and continue cooking for about 2.5 more hours, or until golden and cooked through.
Tip: 15 minutes per pound, 165 degrees when thermometer is inserted into thigh. (A 14 pound turkey needs about 3.5 hours)

Stuffing or Dressing

The night before
Saute your ingredients as you normally would then cool, cover and chill. When you are ready to create your stuffing, remove from refrigerator, heat up ingredients in pan, the butter will melt and you can continue with your stuffing or dressing recipes as usual.

Potatoes

If you have the room in your refrigerator, doing this the night before saves an enormous amount of time and clean up the next day.

Wash, peel and cut your potatoes the usual way and put them in the pan you will cook them in. Cover with cold water, add the lid and place in the refrigerator until you are ready to start cooking them.

When you’re ready, take them out of the refrigerator, remove the lid and cook as usual.

oven roasted brussels sprouts and carrots

Difficulty: Simple
Print

oven 400 degrees

ingredients

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1.5 pounds brussels sprounts, halved
6 carrots 1.5″ thick
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh parley leaves

directions

Lightly oil baking sheet or oven safe pan.
In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, syrup, garlic and thyme. Set aside.
Place your sprouts and carrots in a single layer on the baking sheet. Drizzel balsamic mixture over vegetables, covering well.
Season with salt and pepper.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes until brown and tender. Garnish with fresh parsley.
Option: If desired..lightly saute with small, cut up pieces of bacon prior to roasting in the oven. cook just enough to add flavor, set bacon pieces aside to top on roasted vegetables after removing from oven.